Temperature adjustment apparatus, exposure apparatus having the temperature adjustment apparatus, and semiconductor device manufacturing method

ABSTRACT

A stationary element ( 7 ) having coils ( 8 ) serving as heating elements of a linear motor for vertically driving a wafer stage is attached to a base member ( 9 ) via a Peltier element ( 20 ), and a coolant ( 19 ) temperature-managed by a cooling unit ( 17 ) is supplied. A cooling amount control unit ( 13 ) predicts the heat generation amount and temperature of each coil ( 8 ) on the basis of a control signal for exposure operation or the like from a controller ( 11 ), and sends the result to the cooling unit ( 17 ) and Peltier element ( 20 ). The Peltier element ( 20 ) moves heat generated by the coil ( 8 ) from the stationary element ( 7 ) to the base member ( 9 ). The cooling unit ( 17 ) controls the temperature and flow rate of the coolant ( 19 ) so as to minimize temperature changes of a movable element ( 5 ) and stage, and supplies the coolant ( 19 ) to the stationary element ( 7 ). The coolant 19 absorbs heat generated by the coil ( 8 ) to achieve high-precision temperature control. The arrangement can be simplified, high-precision temperature control with good responses can be implemented, and decreases in measurement precision and align precision by a temperature change can be suppressed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a temperature adjustmentapparatus in, e.g., an alignment stage apparatus such as an exposureapparatus or high-precision processing apparatus requiring precisealignment, an exposure apparatus having the temperature adjustmentapparatus, and a semiconductor device manufacturing method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A projection exposure apparatus (stepper or the like) used inphotolithography for manufacturing a semiconductor element, liquidcrystal display element, or the like transfers at a high precision apattern formed on a master such as a reticle or photomask onto asubstrate such as a wafer or glass plate coated with a photoresist via aprojection optical unit. For this purpose, very high imagingcharacteristics are demanded for the projection optical unit, and a highmeasurement precision is demanded for, e.g., a laser interferometer formeasuring the align of a stage which supports a substrate such as amaster or wafer.

[0003] The imaging characteristics of the projection optical unit andthe measurement precision of the laser interferometer are greatlyinfluenced by changes in apparatus and ambient temperatures. The laserinterferometer causes fluctuations of a laser beam upon a change inambient temperature, degrading the measurement precision.

[0004] At the same time, a member holding a mirror as a measurementtarget of the laser interferometer deforms owing to the temperaturechange, the relative aligns of a substrate and the mirror serving as analign reference change, and the measurement precision decreases.Recently, demands have arisen for an alignment precision of nanometer(nm) order. For example, even if a 100-mm thick low-temperature thermalexpansion member (thermal expansion coefficient: 1×10⁻⁶) deforms by 100nm upon a temperature change of 1° C., and the air temperature on thelaser path of the laser interferometer changes by 1° C., the alignmeasurement value may change by 100 nm depending on conditions. Hence,the temperatures of the building components of the projection exposureapparatus and its ambient temperature must be kept constant.

[0005] In a conventional projection exposure apparatus, a temperaturerise of the apparatus by a heating member such as an exposure lightsource or a driving motor for driving a stage degrades the measurementprecision of, e.g., the laser interferometer for measuring the stagealign and the imaging characteristics of the projection optical unit.

[0006] In some cases, a temperature change of air changes the ambienttemperature of the projection exposure apparatus, degrading the imagingcharacteristics of the projection optical unit. To prevent this, globalair-conditioning is generally performed in which the projection exposureapparatus is stored in an environment control chamber, andtemperature-controlled air is supplied into the chamber.

[0007] An exposure apparatus requiring precise temperature managementundergoes temperature management by a combination of globalair-conditioning and a method of directly supplying atemperature-controlled coolant such as air or water to a portion to becooled. For example, to keep the measurement precision of the laserinterferometer constant, air controlled to a predetermined temperaturein a predetermined direction is supplied into a local space in theoptical path of a laser beam between the laser interferometer and amirror for reflecting a laser beam from the laser interferometer. Torecover and remove heat generated by, e.g., a driving motor for drivinga reticle stage or wafer stage, a cooling circulation pipe surrounds thedriving motor, and a coolant such as water, air, or an inert liquid iscirculated from an external temperature adjustment apparatus to thecirculation pipe.

[0008] The temperature is controlled by setting a temperature sensor ator near a portion to be temperature-controlled, changing the flow rateor temperature of a coolant on the basis of an output from thetemperature sensor, and adjusting the heat recovery amount (see JapanesePatent Laid-Open Nos. 7-302124 and 7-302747).

[0009]FIG. 14 is a view schematically showing an example of the drivingdevice of an alignment stage in a conventional exposure apparatus. Awafer 501 is held by a top plate 503 of an alignment stage via a waferchuck 502. A pattern formed on a master (not shown) such as a reticle istransferred onto the wafer 501 by irradiation light from an illuminationoptical unit (not shown) via a projection lens (not shown). Thealignment stage aligns the wafer by relatively moving linear motors madeup of a movable element 505 to which permanent magnets 506 are fixed anda stationary element 507 in which a plurality of coils 508 are buried,in accordance with driving signals from a controller 511 and driver 512.The movable element 505 is guided by hydrostatic bearings 524 andconnected to linear motors 526 for vertical movement. The top plate 503is set via the movable element 505 and linear motors 526. The stationaryelement 507 has a plurality of coils 508 and is constituted by a jacketstructure so as to flow a coolant for recovering heat generated by thecoils 508.

[0010] A mirror 504 is attached to the top plate 503, and the align ofthe top plate 503 is measured by an align measurement unit 516 such as alaser interferometer fixed to an align where the unit 516 faces themirror 504. A measurement value from the align measurement unit 516 issent to the controller 511. The controller 511 controls the energizationamount to the coil 508 of each linear motor via the driver 512 on thebasis of the measurement value, drives and controls the linear motor,and drives and aligns the alignment stage at a high precision.

[0011] The stationary element 507 is connected to a coolant pipe 518 forcirculating a coolant temperature-managed by a cooling unit 517, inorder to prevent heat generated by each coil 508 upon driving the linearmotor from conducting to air or a member and increasing the temperaturesof the top plate 503 and wafer 501. The temperature-managed coolantdrains heat generated by the coil 508 and is recovered by the coolingunit 517 outside the driving device. To compensate for the temperature,a temperature control unit 513 receives temperature data from atemperature measurement unit 515 for outputting temperature datameasured by a temperature sensor 514 set on the movable element 505, andinstructs the cooling unit 517 to control the temperature or flow rateof the coolant so as to minimize temperature changes of the movableelement 505 and top plate 503. In addition, the temperature control unit513 supplies to the linear motors via the coolant pipe 518 a coolantwhich is managed in temperature and adjusted in flow rate by the coolingunit 517. The temperature-managed coolant absorbs heat generated by thelinear motor stationary element 507, and suppresses temperature changesof the movable element 505, top plate 503, and wafer 501.

[0012] In this prior art, to precisely manage the temperatures of aplurality of heating portions, {circle over (1)} a necessary amount ofcoolant temperature-controlled in accordance with the respective heatingportions is supplied to the heating portions, or {circle over (2)} acoolant of the same temperature is supplied to all the heating portionsafter the flow rate is secured such that the coolant temperature afterabsorbing heat generated by all the heating portions is equal to orsmaller than the allowable rise temperature of the apparatus. In {circleover (1)}, the pipe for supplying the coolant is complicated.Particularly to manage the temperature of the wafer stage or the like,problems such as a load resistance to driving due to the pipe rigidityand a location ensured to lay out the pipe must be solved. For example,to individually control the temperatures or flow rates of the respectivelinear motors when the linear motors have different driving patterns,the number of cooling units must be increased as the number of linearmotors increases. Also, the number of coolant pipes extending from thecooling units to the alignment stage increases.

[0013] However, the number of pipes and their diameter are limitedbecause a disturbance to alignment caused by the flexural rigidity orvibrations of the pipe must be suppressed. It is not, therefor,practical to arrange cooling units equal in number to linear motors,individually lay out pipes from the respective cooling units to therespective linear motors, and control coolant amounts to the respectivelinear motors. For this reason, a given number of linear motors are setas one group, like {circle over (2)}, and controlled at the same coolanttemperature or flow rate by using one cooling unit. It is difficult toexecute precise temperature control for each linear motor. In thismethod, the cooling amount of the coolant is determined incorrespondence with a portion having the largest heat generation amount,and an unwanted cooling amount (flow rate or temperature) of the coolantis inefficiently supplied to another heating portion having a small heatgeneration amount.

[0014] To rapidly cope with a change in the heat amount of a heatingelement such as a coil, there is proposed a method of predicting theheat amount of the heating element by a temperature control unit andcontrolling the heat recovery amount of a coolant. The coolant pipeextending from the cooling unit 517 to each linear motor is as long as 5m or more. Thus, (1) even if the coolant temperature is controlled, along time is taken to reflect the coolant temperature on each linearmotor, and temperature control delays. (2) Even if the coolanttemperature is controlled by the cooling unit 517 at a high precision, ahigh-precise temperature is not reflected when the coolant reaches thelinear motor owing to movement of heat during a long pipe. (3) A largetime lag occurs because the cooling unit 517 cannot change the coolanttemperature as fast as an output from the linear motor. These problemsmake it difficult to perform high-precision temperature control forobjects to be temperature-controlled such as a top plate and a substrateincluding a wafer to be aligned.

[0015] If the temperature is controlled based on an output from thetemperature sensor, the output from the temperature sensor is changedafter the temperature changes, so high-response temperature controlcannot be achieved as a whole. Furthermore, attaching the temperaturesensor increases cost and decreases reliability.

[0016] As an output from a recent exposure apparatus increases, the heatamount of each driving portion increases. It becomes difficult for theconventional method to ensure a coolant flow rate at which all generatedheat is recovered and a temperature rise of a coolant is suppressedsmaller than the allowable temperature difference of the apparatus. Inother words, to ensure a high coolant flow rate, the pipe must be madethick under limitations on the pump ability or the like. Such a pipe isdifficult to lay out. In addition, the thick pipe acts as a nonlineardriving load resistance with respect to an alignment driving portion anddegrades the alignment precision.

[0017] Vibrations by the flow of a coolant along with an increase incoolant flow rate cannot be ignored and may adversely influence analignment precision which must be high. A coolant having a large heatcapacity may be used to recover generated heat without excessivelyincreasing the coolant flow rate. However, there is no coolant having aheat capacity with which heat generated by the driving unit of theexposure apparatus or the like can be recovered at a proper flow rate.

[0018] As described above, heat generated in the exposure apparatus hasconventionally been recovered to suppress a temperature rise in order tosuppress a temperature change in the apparatus. If heat generated in theentire exposure apparatus increases, the conventional method cannotcompletely recover the generated heat, and each portion of the apparatusinevitably changes in temperature. Even if generated heat can becompletely recovered, the alignment precision degrades, which is inconflict with the purpose of increasing the alignment precision.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The present invention has been proposed to solve the conventionalproblems, and has as its object to provide a temperature adjustmentapparatus capable of controlling the temperature of an exposureapparatus or the like at a high precision with a simple arrangement andhigh response, to provide a high-precision, high-reliability exposureapparatus which suppresses changes in apparatus and ambient temperatureeven if heat generated in the apparatus increases along with an increasein output of the entire exposure apparatus, and suppresses decreases inalignment measurement precision, alignment precision, and imagingcharacteristics caused by a temperature change, and to provide asemiconductor device manufacturing method.

[0020] To achieve the above object, according to the present invention,there is provided a temperature adjustment apparatus for adjusting atemperature of an object to be temperature-controlled, comprising afirst temperature adjustment mechanism for controlling the temperatureof the object to be temperature-controlled, and a second temperatureadjustment mechanism for controlling the temperature of the object to betemperature-controlled, wherein the first and second temperatureadjustment mechanisms have different temperature control responses, andcontrol the temperature of the object to be temperature-controlled incooperation with coarse adjustment and fine adjustment on the basis ofdifference in response.

[0021] In the temperature adjustment apparatus of the present invention,the object to be temperature-controlled preferably includes an actuatoror a member near the actuator.

[0022] In the temperature adjustment apparatus of the present invention,the object to be temperature-controlled may include a plurality ofobjects to be temperature-controlled. The second temperature adjustmentmechanism can serially connect the plurality of objects to betemperature-controlled and adjust temperatures. Also, the secondtemperature adjustment mechanism can parallelly adjust temperatures ofthe plurality of objects to be temperature-controlled.

[0023] In the temperature adjustment apparatus of the present invention,the first temperature adjustment mechanism preferably controls thetemperature of the object to be temperature-controlled on the basis ofprediction of the temperature of the object to betemperature-controlled. The first temperature adjustment mechanismpreferably comprises a Peltier element arranged at or near the object tobe temperature-controlled.

[0024] In the temperature adjustment apparatus of the present invention,the second temperature adjustment mechanism preferably recovers heat ofthe object to be temperature-controlled by using a coolanttemperature-controlled by a cooling unit.

[0025] In the temperature adjustment apparatus of the present invention,the first temperature adjustment mechanism preferably comprises a thirdtemperature adjustment mechanism for adjusting a temperature of a heatexhaust portion. The third temperature adjustment mechanism can serve aspart of the second temperature adjustment mechanism.

[0026] According to the present invention, there is provided atemperature adjustment apparatus for adjusting temperatures of aplurality of objects to be temperature-controlled, comprising aplurality of first temperature adjustment mechanisms which arerespectively arranged at the plurality of objects to betemperature-controlled and respectively control the temperatures of theobjects to be temperature-controlled, and a second temperatureadjustment mechanism for recovering heat exhausted from the plurality offirst temperature adjustment mechanisms at once.

[0027] In the temperature adjustment apparatus of the present invention,the objects to be temperature-controlled preferably include actuators ormembers near the actuators.

[0028] In the temperature adjustment apparatus of the present invention,the first temperature adjustment mechanisms preferably control thetemperatures of the objects to be temperature-controlled on the basis ofprediction of the temperatures of the objects to betemperature-controlled. The first temperature adjustment mechanismspreferably comprise Peltier elements respectively arranged at theobjects to be temperature-controlled.

[0029] In the temperature adjustment apparatus of the present invention,the second temperature adjustment mechanism preferably adjuststemperatures of heat exhaust portions of the first temperatureadjustment mechanisms.

[0030] According to the present invention, there is provided analignment stage apparatus, comprising a first temperature adjustmentmechanism for controlling a temperature of an object to betemperature-controlled, a second temperature adjustment mechanism forcontrolling the temperature of the object to be temperature-controlled,the first and second temperature adjustment mechanisms having differenttemperature control responses, and an actuator for controlling thetemperature of the object to be temperature-controlled in cooperationwith coarse adjustment and fine adjustment on the basis of difference inresponse, and driving the alignment stage by using information about thetemperature control as one piece of information for driving control.

[0031] According to the present invention, there is provided an exposureapparatus having an illumination optical unit for emitting exposurelight, a stage for supporting a substrate, and a main controller forcontrolling exposure operation of transferring a pattern formed on amaster to the substrate, comprising a controller for controlling aPeltier element on the basis of an operation control signal from themain controller, and controlling heat movement by the Peltier element,the Peltier element being set at or near an object to betemperature-controlled.

[0032] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, thecontroller preferably predicts a heat generation amount or temperatureof the object to be temperature-controlled on the basis of the operationcontrol signal from the main controller, and controls the Peltierelement.

[0033] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, a heatrecovery unit is preferably arranged near the object to betemperature-controlled. The heat recovery unit preferably uses a coolantwhose temperature and flow rate are controlled by a cooling unit.

[0034] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, thecontroller preferably predicts a heat generation amount or temperatureof the object to be temperature-controlled on the basis of the operationcontrol signal from the main controller, and controls the Peltierelement and/or a heat recovery unit. It is preferable that the maincontroller include a driving controller for controlling an actuator ofthe stage, and that the controller control the Peltier element and/or aheat recovery unit on the basis of a stage driving signal from thedriving controller.

[0035] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, it ispreferable that at least one temperature sensor for measuring atemperature of the object to be temperature-controlled be set, and thatthe controller control the Peltier element and/or a heat recovery uniton the basis of an output signal from the temperature sensor.

[0036] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, when theobject to be temperature-controlled includes a heating element, a heatconduction path between the heating element and the Peltier element ispreferably formed from a material higher in thermal conductivity than amaterial of a non-heat conduction path. The Peltier element ispreferably sandwiched between the object to be temperature-controlledand a base member, and the base member is preferably formed from amaterial having a high thermal conductivity and a large heat capacity.

[0037] According to the present invention, there is provided an exposureapparatus having an illumination optical unit for emitting exposurelight, a stage for supporting a substrate, and a main controller forcontrolling exposure operation of transferring a pattern formed on amaster to the substrate, comprising a heat generation amount controllerfor controlling a heat generation amount of a heating element inaccordance with an operation status of the exposure apparatus, theheating element being set near at least part of an object to betemperature-controlled.

[0038] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the heatingelement is preferably set near a heating element of the object to betemperature-controlled.

[0039] When the exposure apparatus of the present invention comprises alinear motor with a plurality of coils as actuators of the stage, a coilnot participating in the exposure operation can be used as the heatingelement. An actuator of the stage can include actuators larger by atleast one than at least one degree of freedom, and each of the actuatorscan be used as the heating element.

[0040] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, a heatrecovery unit for recovering a heat generation amount or adjusting atemperature is preferably disposed near the object to betemperature-controlled. The heat recovery unit can use a coolant whosetemperature and flow rate are controlled by a cooling unit. The heatrecovery unit is preferably controlled based on the heat generationamount of the heating element.

[0041] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the heatgeneration amount controller preferably controls the heat generationamount of the heating element on the basis of a heat generation amountrecovered by a heat recovery unit. The heat generation amount controllerpreferably sets an initial heat generation amount for the heatingelement. The initial heat generation amount can be set from a differencebetween a maximum heat generation amount generated from a heatingelement of the object to be temperature-controlled and a maximum heatrecovery amount of a heat recovery unit.

[0042] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the heatgeneration amount controller preferably controls the heat generationamount of the heating element on the basis of an exposure signal fromthe main controller. The heat generation amount controller preferablypredicts a heat generation amount or temperature of the exposureapparatus on the basis of an exposure signal from the main controller,and controls the heat generation amount of the heating element so as toreduce a temperature change of the exposure apparatus.

[0043] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, it ispreferable that at least one temperature sensor for measuring atemperature of the object to be temperature-controlled be set, and thatthe heat generation amount controller control the heat generation amountof the heating element on the basis of an output signal from thetemperature sensor.

[0044] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, it ispreferable that the main controller include an exposure amountcontroller for controlling an exposure amount of the illuminationoptical unit, and that the heat generation amount controller control theheat generation amount of the heating element on the basis of a signalfrom the exposure amount controller.

[0045] In the exposure apparatus of the present invention, the exposureapparatus preferably further comprises a display, a network interface,and a computer for executing network access software, and maintenanceinformation of the exposure apparatus is communicated via a computernetwork.

[0046] The network access software preferably provides on the display auser interface for accessing a maintenance database provided by a vendoror user of the exposure apparatus, and enables obtaining informationfrom the database via Internet or a dedicated network connected to thecomputer network.

[0047] According to the present invention, there is provided asemiconductor device manufacturing method comprising the steps ofinstalling manufacturing apparatuses for various processes including theabove-described exposure apparatus in a semiconductor manufacturingfactory, and manufacturing a semiconductor device in a plurality ofprocesses by using the manufacturing apparatuses.

[0048] The device manufacturing method of the present inventionpreferably further comprises the steps of connecting the manufacturingapparatuses by a local area network, and communicating information aboutat least one of the manufacturing apparatuses between the local areanetwork and Internet or a dedicated network serving as an externalnetwork of the semiconductor manufacturing factory. It is preferablethat a database provided by a semiconductor device manufacturer or asupplier of the exposure apparatus be accessed by data communication viathe external network to obtain maintenance information of themanufacturing apparatus, or production management be done by datacommunication between the semiconductor manufacturing factory andanother semiconductor manufacturing factory via the external network.

[0049] According to the present invention, there is provided asemiconductor manufacturing factory comprising manufacturing apparatusesfor various processes including the above-described exposure apparatus,a local area network for connecting the manufacturing apparatuses in thesemiconductor manufacturing factory, and a gateway for enablingaccessing Internet or a dedicated network serving as an external networkof the semiconductor manufacturing factory from the local area network,wherein information of at least one of the manufacturing apparatuses canbe communicated.

[0050] According to the present invention, the Peltier element near theobject to be temperature-controlled is controlled based on exposureoperation of an exposure apparatus or the like. This enables heatmovement control with good response with respect to exposure operation,and enables high-precision temperature control which cannot be achievedby the prior art. Since a temperature sensor need not always beemployed, a low-cost exposure apparatus with high stability can beimplemented. Further, decreases in alignment measurement precision andalign precision by a temperature change can be suppressed.

[0051] The heat recovery unit is arranged near the object to betemperature-controlled. A heat movement amount controlled by the Peltierelement can be reduced, the control efficiency of the Peltier elementcan be increased, and heat generated by the Peltier element itself canbe suppressed small. Resultantly, an increase in total heat amount to berecovered can be suppressed.

[0052] The heat conduction path between the Peltier element and aheating element is made of a material having a high thermalconductivity. Therefore, the heat movement amount between the Peltierelement and the heating element can be increased, and the heat amount ofthe object to be temperature-controlled can be efficiently controlled.The base member is made of a material having a high thermal conductivityor large heat capacity, so that a heat amount from the object to betemperature-controlled can suppress temperature nonuniformity or atemperature rise of the base member.

[0053] The heat generation amount of a heating unit near the object tobe temperature-controlled is controlled. Thus, a change in the heatgeneration amount of the object to be temperature-controlled can bereduced to reduce a change in temperature at each portion of theapparatus and a change in ambient temperature. The heating unit is setnear a heating element for the object to be temperature-controlled. Theheating unit can give influence equal to influence of the heatingelement of the driving device on another portion, which facilitatestemperature control of each portion of the apparatus.

[0054] When a linear motor having a plurality of coils is used as astage driving unit, a coil not participating in exposure operation orthe like is used as a heating unit, and no new heating unit need bearranged. Moreover, two or more driving units are arranged in onedriving direction, and the driving force and heat generation amount inthis driving direction are arbitrarily changed. With this arrangement,each driving unit can be used as a heating unit, and no new heating unitneed be arranged, which is advantageous in terms of installation spaceand cost.

[0055] The heat recovery unit is adopted together with control of theheat generation amount of the heating unit. Even if the heat generationamount of each driving portion increases along with an increase inoutput from the entire apparatus, temperature changes of the apparatusand atmosphere can be suppressed. A temperature change can be controlledat a relatively low temperature, and decreases in measurement precisionand align precision by a temperature change can be suppressed.

[0056] The heat generation amount of the heating unit is controlled onthe basis of exposure operation of the exposure apparatus and a heatgeneration amount recovered by the heat recovery unit. The heating stateof the apparatus can be accurately grasped, and thus the heat generationamount can be appropriately controlled. By predicting a temperature riseof each portion of the apparatus on the basis of various pieces ofinformation, a proper heat generation amount can be applied to theheating unit, and temperature control can be minimized.

[0057] By reflecting the detection result of the temperature at eachportion of the apparatus on the heating unit, higher-precision controlof a temperature change can be achieved.

[0058] Other features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate thesame or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in andconstitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

[0060]FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the driving device of afine alignment stage in an exposure apparatus according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

[0061]FIG. 2 is a view showing part of the driving device of the finealignment stage in the exposure apparatus according to the firstembodiment of the present invention, particularly the structure of alinear motor for driving the fine alignment stage in the Z direction;

[0062]FIG. 3A is a view schematically showing the driving device of acoarse alignment stage in an exposure apparatus according to the secondembodiment of the present invention, and

[0063]FIG. 3B is a sectional view showing the driving device of thecoarse alignment stage shown in FIG. 3A;

[0064]FIG. 4 is a view schematically showing the driving device of analignment stage in an exposure apparatus according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention;

[0065]FIG. 5 is a view schematically showing the driving device of analignment stage in an exposure apparatus according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention;

[0066]FIG. 6 is a view schematically showing the driving device of analignment stage in an exposure apparatus according to the fifthembodiment of the present invention;

[0067]FIGS. 7A to 7C are schematic views for explaining the drivingforce generation state of each linear motor in an exposure apparatusaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

[0068]FIG. 8 is a view schematically showing an exposure apparatusaccording to the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

[0069]FIG. 9 is a view showing an overall semiconductor deviceproduction system;

[0070]FIG. 10 is a view showing another form of the semiconductor deviceproduction system;

[0071]FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a user interface in theinput window of a trouble database;

[0072]FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a semiconductor devicemanufacturing process;

[0073]FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a wafer process; and

[0074]FIG. 14 is a view schematically showing the driving device of analignment stage in a conventional exposure apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0075] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now bedescribed in detail in accordance with the accompanying drawings.

[0076] <First Embodiment>

[0077] The first embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0078]FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the driving device of afine alignment stage in an exposure apparatus according to the firstembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing part ofthe driving device of the fine alignment stage in the exposure apparatusaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention, particularlythe structure of a linear motor for driving the fine alignment stage inthe Z direction.

[0079] In FIGS. 1 and 2, a wafer 1 as a substrate is held by a top plate3 of the fine alignment stage via a wafer chuck 2. A pattern formed on amaster (not shown) such as a reticle is transferred onto the wafer 1 byirradiation light from an illumination optical unit (not shown) via aprojection lens (not shown).

[0080] The fine alignment stage comprises a total of six linear motors(one is not shown), i.e., one (or two depending on the arrangement)linear motor in the X direction, two linear motors in the Y direction,and three linear motors in the Z direction. The six linear motors enablealignment control with a total of six degrees of freedom in the X-, Y-,and Z-axis directions and around the X-, Y-, and Z-axes. The finealignment stage can precisely align the wafer 1 as an object to bealigned by driving, via a controller 11 and driver 12, the linear motorsrespectively made up of movable and stationary elements 5 and 7.

[0081] Each linear motor allows a permanent magnet (moving magnet) tomove. Each movable element 5 to which a permanent magnet 6 (FIG. 2) isfixed is attached to the top plate 3 via a heat insulator 23. A coil 8of each stationary element 7 is covered with a jacket for flowing acoolant 19. The linear motor stationary element 7 is attached to a basemember 9 via a Peltier element 20 and heat insulator 21. The stationaryelement 7 is fixed to the base member 9 via the heat insulator 21 ofceramics having a high rigidity and low thermal conductivity so as toapply little force on the Peltier element 20 because the Peltier element20 is generally low in rigidity. The Peltier element 20 moves heat froma high-temperature (heating) side to a low-temperature side by supplyinga current or voltage. Heat movement can be controlled at a high speedand high precision by controlling a current or voltage supplied to thePeltier element 20. Since the stationary element 7 is fixed via the heatinsulator 21, heat moved between the stationary element 7 and the basemember 9 by the Peltier element 20 can be prevented from conductingbackward.

[0082] To promote heat movement by the Peltier element 20, thestationary element 7 is made of aluminum higher in thermal conductivitythan ceramics as the material of a building element such as the heatinsulator 23 for fixing the top plate 3 and movable element 5 or theheat insulator 21 for fixing the stationary element 7. Since thestationary element 7 as a main heat path between the coil 8 serving as aheating element and the Peltier element 20 serving as a heat movementcontroller is made of aluminum having a high thermal conductivity, alarger amount of heat generated by the coil 8 can be moved to the basemember 9 while the temperature difference in the stationary element 7 iskept small.

[0083] A mirror 4 is attached to the end of the top plate 3 (FIG. 1),and the align of the top plate 3 is measured by an align measurementunit 16 such as a laser interferometer fixed to an align where the unit16 faces the mirror 4. A measurement value from the align measurementunit 16 is sent to the controller 11. The controller 11 controls theenergization amount to each coil 8 via the driver 12 on the basis of themeasurement value, controls the linear motor, and drives and aligns thefine alignment stage at a high precision. Note that the controller 11constitutes a main controller for controlling exposure operation of theexposure apparatus, and the main controller includes an exposure amountcontrol unit for controlling the exposure amount and exposure conditionsof the illumination optical unit, and a driving control unit forcontrolling driving of each stage.

[0084] The stationary element 7 is connected to a coolant pipe 18 forsupplying and recovering a coolant temperature-managed by a cooling unit17, in order to prevent heat generated by the coil 8 upon driving thelinear motor from conducting to air or a member and increasing thetemperature of the top plate 3. The coolant pipe 18 serially flows thecoolant 19 to the respective linear motors. The temperature-managedcoolant 19 is supplied to the fine alignment stage and distributed tothe stationary elements 7 of the respective linear motors in the stage,as schematically shown in FIG. 1. The coolant 19 absorbs heat generatedby the respective coils 8. The coolant 19 having passed through thelinear motors is recovered at once by the cooling unit 17 outside thedriving device. This arrangement can facilitate layout of the coolantpipe 18 from the cooling unit 17 to the fine alignment stage andsimplify the cooling unit 17.

[0085] Although it is impossible to perform accurate temperature controlof each linear motor by the coolant 19, the first embodiment realizesfine temperature control by each Peltier element 20. According to thismethod, the coolant pipe 18 parallelly connects the linear motors, butmay serially connect them to provide high-precision temperature control.

[0086] A cooling amount control unit 13 receives data of an energizationamount or the like to each coil 8 from the controller 11 for adjustingthe energization amount to each coil 8 via the driver 12 and controllingthe linear motor. Then, the cooling amount control unit 13 calculates inadvance or real time a heat amount generated by each linear motor, andcontrols the Peltier element 20 and cooling unit 17.

[0087] The cooling amount control unit 13 instructs the cooling unit 17to control the temperature or flow rate of the coolant 19 so as tominimize temperature changes of the stationary element 7 and top plate 3and compensate for the temperature with reference to temperature datareceived from a temperature measurement unit 15 for outputtingtemperature data measured by a temperature sensor 14 attached to eachstationary element 7. In this manner, the cooling amount control unit 13can control the Peltier element 20 and cooling unit 17, can adjust thetemperature of the coolant 19 by the cooling unit 17, and can use thePeltier element 20 to control at a high precision a heat amount whichcannot be controlled by only the coolant 19.

[0088] In the first embodiment having this arrangement, the controller11 instructs the driver 12 to align the wafer 1 as an object to bealigned to a predetermined align on the basis of measurement data by thealign measurement unit 16. The driver 12 energizes the coil 8 on thebasis of the instruction, drives the linear motor made up of the movableand stationary elements 5 and 7, and precisely aligns the wafer 1 as anobject to be aligned. At the same time, the controller 11 sends to thecooling amount control unit 13 data about driving of the linear motorsuch as the energization amount to each coil 8. The cooling amountcontrol unit 13 calculates the heat amount generated by each linearmotor in advance or real time on the basis of the data about the drivingof the linear motor that is received from the controller 11, and theunit 13 controls the Peltier element 20 and cooling unit 17. Further,the cooling amount control unit 13 instructs the cooling unit 17 tocontrol the temperature or flow rate of the coolant 19 so as to minimizetemperature changes of the stationary element 7 and top plate 3 withreference to temperature data received from the temperature measurementunit 15 for outputting temperature data of heat generated by the coil 8that is measured by the temperature sensor 14 attached to eachstationary element 7. A supplied current or voltage is controlled foreach Peltier element 20 attached to a corresponding stationary element 7on the basis of the temperature data or the heat amount calculated inadvance or real time by the cooling amount control unit 13. The Peltierelement 20 controls the temperature by moving heat from the stationaryelement 7 at a high speed and high precision. At the same time, thecoolant 19 temperature-managed by the cooling unit 17 is supplied to thestationary elements 7 of the respective linear motors via the coolantpipe 18 at an adjusted temperature or flow rate, and absorbs heatgenerated by the coils 8. The coolant 19 having passed through thelinear motors is recovered at once by the cooling unit 17. At this time,each Peltier element 20 can control heat movement at a high speed andhigh precision by changing a supplied current or voltage, and cancontrol the temperature of a corresponding stationary element 7 at ahigh precision. This enables fine temperature control of each stationaryelement 7 that cannot be achieved by only the coolant 19, and cancompensate for a temperature control lag of the coolant 19. Especially,the cooling amount control unit 13 predicts heat generated by eachstationary element 7 based on an output from the controller 11, andcontrols the Peltier element 20 based on the result, thereby controllingheat movement by the Peltier element 20 in real time with driving of thefine alignment stage.

[0089] The first embodiment adopts a coolant channel 18 a in the basemember 9 to flow the coolant 19 into the coolant channel 18 a and keepthe temperature constant to some extent in order to suppress heatmovement between the base member 9 and the stationary element 7, heatgenerated by the Peltier element 20 itself, heat conduction from anotherportion, or the influence on another portion by a temperature change ofthe base member 9 caused by heat conduction. When the coolant 19 flowingthrough the stationary element 7 can recover most of heat and heathardly moves via the Peltier element 20, a temperature change of thebase member 9 is small, the influence on the alignment precision bydeformation or a temperature change of the base member 9 is relativelysmall in terms of the structure of the fine alignment stage, and thusthe coolant channel 18 a need not always be formed in the base member 9.In this case, a heat amount applied to the base member 9 mainly conductsto the atmosphere, which does not pose any problem because of theair-conditioning effect in the exposure apparatus as far as the heatamount is small.

[0090] To suppress temperature nonuniformity of the base member 9, thebase member 9 is made of a material such as aluminum having a highthermal conductivity and is designed with a larger heat capacity thanthat of the stationary element 7. This can prevent a local temperaturerise caused by a heat amount applied from the heating side of thePeltier element 20, and can minimize temperature nonuniformity of theatmosphere.

[0091] In general, the Peltier element 20 can control heat movement at ahigh speed by changing a voltage or current supplied between elements,and can compensate for a temperature control lag of the coolant. Theheat amount of the stationary element 7 can be directly controlled bydirectly attaching the Peltier element 20 to the stationary element 7,so that high-precision temperature control is possible. The coolingamount control unit 13 can predict heat generated by the stationaryelement 7 on the basis of an output from the controller 11, and cancontrol heat movement by the Peltier element 20 in real time withdriving of the fine alignment stage. In this way, the advantages of thePeltier element 20 can be fully exploited.

[0092] When the heat amount control point where the Peltier element 20is installed is distant from the temperature observation point where thetemperature sensor 14 is attached, a long time (large time constant) istaken until the temperature changes at the temperature observation pointafter a change in heat amount is added at the heat amount control point.If an output from the Peltier element 20 is changed after thetemperature sensor 14 measures the temperature, a control lag occurs,and the good response of the Peltier element 20 cannot be exploited. Tothe contrary, when the cooling amount control unit 13 predicts a heatgeneration amount based on an output from the controller 11 and controlsthe heat movement amount, like the first embodiment, the heat movementamount can be changed in real time in correspondence with a change inheat generation amount, which enables high-precision temperaturecontrol.

[0093] The Peltier element 20 can reverse heat movement by reversing thedirection of the supplied current. In terms of suppressing a temperaturechange, the Peltier element 20 can move heat from the stationary element7 to the base member 9 (i.e., cool the stationary element 7) and canmove heat from the base member 9 to the stationary element 7 (i.e., heatthe stationary element 7). Since the initial temperature can be freelyset, the temperature can be easily controlled in terms of suppressing atemperature change of an object to be temperature-controlled. Forexample, when heat cannot be completely recovered in maximum heatgeneration of the linear motor under limitations on the temperature andflow rate of a coolant, a temperature change of the stationary element 7can be suppressed by moving heat to the base member 9 by the Peltierelement 20. It is also possible to set higher initial temperature of thestationary element 7, so that heat moves from the base member 9 to thestationary element 7 to heat the stationary element 7 when no linearmotor generates heat, and that heat movement is inhibited when thelinear motor generates heat. This can simplify the structure of thecooling unit 17 and can suppress degradation of alignment precisioncaused by the cooling unit.

[0094] The first embodiment employs both temperature control of thestationary element 7 by the Peltier element 20 and temperature controlusing the coolant 19 temperature-managed by the cooling unit 17. Thetemperature of the stationary element 7 is not controlled by only thePeltier element 20 because of a low heat movement efficiency of thePeltier element 20. The Peltier element 20 used in this embodimentgenerates heat of 3 to 4 W by itself when heat of 10 W is absorbed. Thatis, the heating side of the Peltier element 20 receives a heat amount 30to 40% larger than the heat absorption amount on the heat-absorbingside. Generally in a single Peltier element, as the control heat amountincreases, the efficiency decreases. Hence, the total heat amount to berecovered increases owing to a low efficiency of the Peltier element 20when all heat generated by the stationary element 7 is absorbed by thePeltier element 20 and heat on the heating side is recovered by a heatrecovery unit such as another cooling unit. As a result, conventionalproblems such as a larger number of coolant pipes or a thick pipe cannotbe solved.

[0095] However, only the Peltier element 20 may control the temperatureof the linear motor stationary element as long as the influence of anincrease in total heat amount caused by heat generation of the Peltierelement 20 on the alignment precision of the coolant pipe falls withinan allowable range. Alternatively, heat from a plurality of linear motorstationary elements is gathered to one portion (base member) andrecovered at once.

[0096] <Second Embodiment>

[0097] The second embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

[0098]FIG. 3A is a view schematically showing the driving device of auniaxial coarse alignment stage in an exposure apparatus according tothe second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3B is a sectionalview showing the driving device of the uniaxial coarse alignment stageshown in FIG. 3A. In the second embodiment, the same reference numeralsas in the above embodiment denote the same parts.

[0099] In FIGS. 3A and 3B, the uniaxial coarse alignment stage aligns anobject to be aligned by performing relative movement by a forcegenerated between a movable element 5 in which permanent magnets 6 aremounted and a stationary element 7 in which coils 8 are buried, inaccordance with driving signals from a controller 11 and driver 12. Themovable element 5 attached to a top plate 3 via heat insulators 23 isattached to a base member 9 via a Peltier element 20 and heat insulator21, and guided by hydrostatic bearings 24 along a surface plate 25. Thestationary element 7 has a plurality of coils 8 and is constituted by ajacket structure so as to flow a coolant 19 for recovering heatgenerated by the coils 8.

[0100] A mirror 4 is attached to the top plate 3 in order to measure thealign of the coarse alignment stage, and the align of the top plate 3 ismeasured by an align measurement unit 16 such as a laser interferometerfixed to an align where the unit 16 faces the mirror 4. A measurementvalue from the align measurement unit 16 is sent to the controller 11.The controller 11 adjusts the energization amount to the coil 8 of eachlinear motor via the driver 12 on the basis of the measurement value,controls the linear motor, and drives and aligns the coarse alignmentstage.

[0101] The temperature and flow rate of the coolant 19 flowing throughthe jacket of the stationary element 7 are determined by a coolingamount control unit 13 on the basis of outputs from a temperature sensor14 set on the movable element 5, a temperature measurement unit 15, andthe controller 11. The coolant 19 cannot always recover the entire heatamount under limitations on the diameter and allowable temperature ofcoolant pipes 18. A heat amount which cannot be recovered by the coolant19 in the jacket conducts to the movable element 5 via the jacketsurface and air. To control a temperature change of the movable element5, a Peltier element 20 is interposed between the movable element 5 andthe base member 9. The Peltier element 20 controls the heat movementamount between the movable element 5 and the base member 9. At thistime, heat moves not only from the movable element 5 to the base member9, but also from the base member 9 to the movable element 5 in terms ofsuppressing a temperature change. That is, the temperature can be keptconstant by moving heat from the base member 9 to the movable element 5when the linear motor generates a small amount of heat, and from themovable element 5 to the base member 9 when the linear motor generates arelatively large amount of heat. Since the Peltier element 20 controlsheat movement, heat can be easily moved not only in one direction butalso in two directions, unlike another heat moving unit (e.g., coolingusing a coolant or a heat pipe). This is very effective because of manytemperature change suppression forms. If control of the Peltier element20 is performed based on an output from the controller 11, thetemperature sensor 14 need not always be arranged. Moreover, asensor-less arrangement can realize high-precision temperature control.The sensor-less arrangement is advantageously free from an increase incost or decrease in reliability caused by attaching the temperaturesensor 14. To execute higher-precision temperature control in the secondembodiment, the temperature sensor 14 is set on the movable element 5,and the cooling amount control unit (temperature control unit) 13 refersto an output from the temperature measurement unit 15 as additionalinformation.

[0102] In a conventional temperature adjustment apparatus using only acoolant, even if a heat generation amount is predicted based on anoutput from the controller 11 to control the cooling unit 17 in order toimprove the response, an object to be temperature-controlled can only becontrolled with very poor response owing to a poor response of thecooling unit 17 and a long coolant pipe 18. To the contrary, the Peltierelement 20, which electrically operates, can satisfactorily cope with arapid change in heat generation amount. By using an instruction from thecontroller 11, heat can be controlled with a very good response as anentire system. The temperature of an object to be temperature-controlledcan be controlled at a high precision to increase the alignmentprecision of an object to be aligned.

[0103] The base member 9 readily changes in temperature because heat isapplied/removed to/from the base member 9 by the Peltier element 20, andthus the coolant channel 18 a is formed on the base member 9 to flow thecoolant 19. This implements suppression of a temperature change and auniform temperature distribution to a certain degree at which theatmosphere is not influenced. Basically, heat generated by the linearmotor is recovered by the coolant 19, and only a heat amount whichcannot be covered by temperature control is moved by the Peltier element20 in order not to excessively apply/remove heat. As far as atemperature change of the base member 9 falls within an allowable range,the coolant is not necessarily supplied.

[0104] The jacket which forms the surface of the stationary element 7 ismade of ceramics or a resin in order to suppress heat conduction to airas much as possible. The movable element 5 as an object to betemperature-controlled is made of iron or aluminum having a high thermalconductivity. Heat of the stationary element 7 conducts mainly from aportion of the movable element 5 near the stationary element 7. Heat isefficiently moved from the stationary element 7 to the base member 9 byforming, from aluminum or iron having a high thermal conductivity, theentire movable element 5 serving as a main heat path between the mainheat conduction portion of the movable element 5 and the Peltier element20 serving as a heat movement controller.

[0105] <Third Embodiment>

[0106] The driving device of an alignment stage in an exposure apparatusaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 4.

[0107]FIG. 4 is a view schematically showing the driving device of thealignment stage in the exposure apparatus according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

[0108] The third embodiment provides an exposure apparatus equipped witha higher-precision, high-reliability temperature adjustment apparatus byconstituting a system in which no temperature change occurs duringdriving of the apparatus and after initialization of the apparatus onthe assumption that a temperature rise in the apparatus cannot beavoided to a given degree. In the third embodiment, the same referencenumerals as in the above embodiments denote the same parts, and adetailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0109] In FIG. 4, a wafer 1 as a substrate is held by a top plate 3 ofthe alignment stage via a wafer chuck 2. A pattern formed on a master(not shown) such as a reticle is transferred onto the wafer 1 byirradiation light from an illumination optical unit (not shown) via aprojection lens (not shown). The alignment stage aligns the wafer 1 byrelatively moving linear motors made up of a movable element 5 in whichpermanent magnets 6 are mounted and a stationary element 7 in which aplurality of coils 8 are buried, in accordance with driving signals froma controller 11 and driver 12. The linear motor movable element 5supports the top plate 3 via linear motors 26 capable of verticalmovement, and is guided by hydrostatic bearings 24. The linear motorstationary element 7 has a plurality of coils 8 and is constituted by ajacket structure so as to flow a coolant 19 for recovering a heat amountgenerated by the coils 8. A mirror 4 is attached to the top plate 3, andthe align of the top plate 3 is measured with high precision by an alignmeasurement unit 16 such as a laser interferometer fixed to an alignwhere the unit 16 faces the mirror 4.

[0110] The coolant 19 temperature-controlled by a cooling unit 17 inorder to recover heat generated by the coil 8 of each linear motor issupplied to the stationary element 7 via a coolant pipe 18, and absorbsand recovers heat generated by the coil 8. The movable element 5 isequipped with a heating unit 30 whose heat generation amount iscontrolled by a heat generation amount control unit 31. The cooling unit17 and heat generation amount control unit 31 execute control whilereferring to the driving signal of each coil 8 from the controller 11.On the basis of an output from a temperature sensor 14 set on themovable element 5, the cooling unit 17 controls the temperature and flowrate of the coolant 19, and the heat generation amount control unit 31controls the heat generation amount of the heating unit 30.

[0111] The heat generation amount control unit 31 causes the heatingunit 30 to generate a given amount of heat Wo when the linear motor isnot driven, i.e., the coil 8 is not energized. This generated heat Wo isan initial heat generation amount, and the initial heat generationamount Wo is set in advance from a heat generation amount which cannotbe recovered by the coolant in maximum heat generation of the coil 8,i.e., the difference between the maximum heat amount of the coil 8 andthe maximum heat recovery amount of the coolant in the cooling unit.

[0112] A temperature which saturates after a sufficient time in a givenstate is set as a reference temperature To in the driving device underthe control of the heat generation amount control unit 31. In the linearmotor driving state, the heat generation amount control unit 31 controlsand adjusts the heat generation amount of the heating unit 30 so as notto change the temperature of the linear motor movable element 5 from thereference temperature To on the basis of a signal from the controller 11while considering a heat recovery amount from the cooling unit 17 and asignal from the temperature sensor 14.

[0113] In the third embodiment having this arrangement, a heatgeneration amount which cannot be recovered by the coolant in maximumheat generation of the coil 8 is set in advance as the initial heatgeneration amount Wo, and the heat generation amount of the heating unit30 is controlled such that the total of the heat generation amounts ofthe coil 8 and heating unit 30 is kept constant or the temperature ofthe temperature sensor 14 set near the heating portion is kept constant.This can suppress temperature changes of the stationary element 7,movable element 5, top plate 3, and atmosphere. At this time, theinitial heat generation amount Wo causes a temperature rise of eachportion, but the temperature does not change after it stabilizes uponthe lapse of a sufficient time. Thus, a measurement device such as alaser interferometer which is readily influenced by a temperature changeis initialized after the temperature stabilizes. Since the measurementdevice which is readily influenced by a temperature change can achievemeasurement in an environment where the temperature hardly changes, themeasurement precision during exposure operation can be increased. Theheating unit 30 in the third embodiment can be a Peltier element asdescribed in the first and second embodiments.

[0114] According to a conventional method of recovering heat generatedby the coil 8 by using only the coolant temperature-adjusted by thecooling unit 17, the coolant may not be satisfactorily circulated underlimitations on the diameter of the coolant pipe 18 or the pump abilityof the cooling unit 17. If the coil 8 generates a large amount of heat,the heat cannot be fully recovered and increases the temperatures of thestationary element 7, movable element 5, top plate 3, and atmosphere. Tocool a member attached to a movable member, such as the linear motor 26for vertical movement, the coolant pipe must be deformed in moving thedriving device. From the viewpoint of the driving device, an unwantedload acts. This load acts as a disturbance on the driving controlapparatus and decreases the alignment precision. If the coolant pipe 18is made thick, circulation of the coolant is improved to increase theheat recovery efficiency and measurement precision. However, thealignment precision decreases owing to the control unit, which conflictswith the purpose of increasing the alignment precision. To the contrary,the third embodiment can solve these conventional problems. Even if theheat generation amount of each driving portion increases along with anincrease in output of the whole exposure apparatus, this embodiment cansuppress temperature changes of the apparatus and atmosphere and cansuppress decreases in measurement precision and alignment precisioncaused by a temperature change.

[0115] <Fourth Embodiment>

[0116] The driving device of an alignment stage in an exposure apparatusaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 5.

[0117]FIG. 5 is a view schematically showing the driving device of thealignment stage in the exposure apparatus according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, the samereference numerals as in the above-described third embodiment denote thesame parts, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0118] The fourth embodiment uses as a heating unit a coil notparticipating in driving in a linear motor, instead of the heating unitof the third embodiment. More specifically, the fourth embodiment canobtain the same effects as those of the third embodiment by selecting asa heating unit a coil which is not participating in driving in thelinear motor and is near a coil participating in driving and serving asa heat source (heating element). The fourth embodiment need not arrangeany new heating unit, unlike the third embodiment, but can obtain thesame effects as those of third embodiment by only modifying part of aconventional arrangement.

[0119] In FIG. 5, when a linear motor movable element 5 is in a stateshown in FIG. 5, a coil 8 b among a plurality of coils 8 (8 a, 8 b, . .. ) aligned in a linear motor stationary element 7 is a driving coilused for driving, and the coil 8 a is a coil which is not participatingin driving and is near the coil 8 b serving as a heat source (heatingelement). Similar to the third embodiment, a heat generation amountcontrol unit 31 controls the heat generation amounts of the coils 8 a, 8b, . . . so as not to change the total of the heat generation amounts ofthe coils 8 a and 8 b or the temperature at each portion of theapparatus by using the initial heat generation amount Wo as a referenceon the basis of outputs from a temperature sensor 14, controller 11, andcooling unit 17. The difference between the maximum heat amount of thecoil 8 b participating in driving and the maximum heat recovery amountwhich can be recovered by the cooling unit 17, i.e., a heat generationamount which cannot be recovered by the cooling unit 17 is set as theinitial heat generation amount Wo. That is, a heat generation amountwhich cannot be recovered by the coolant is added in advance as theinitial heat generation amount Wo before driving starts. A situation inwhich the temperature of each portion cannot be controlled iseliminated, and any temperature change of each portion can be prevented.

[0120] <Fifth Embodiment>

[0121] The driving device of an alignment stage in an exposure apparatusaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7A to 7C.

[0122]FIG. 6 is a view schematically showing the driving device of thealignment stage in the exposure apparatus according to the fifthembodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 7A to 7C are schematic viewsfor explaining the driving force generation state of each linear motorin the fifth embodiment.

[0123] The fifth embodiment uses a driving unit itself as a heating unitby modifying the arrangement of the driving unit. In the fifthembodiment, the same reference numerals as in the third and fourthembodiments denote the same parts, and a detailed description thereofwill be omitted.

[0124] In the fifth embodiment, a driving device shown in FIG. 6 hasonly a small driving range. Unlike the third and fourth embodiments, aplurality of coils 8 are not arranged, or coils to which a current issupplied are not switched. The driving device is constituted by twopairs of linear motors respectively made up of magnets 6 c and 6 d andcoils 8 c and 8 d which enable driving in the right-and-left directionin FIG. 6.

[0125] Since the driving device is constructed by actuators redundant innumber with respect to a given degree of freedom, they generate oppositeforces to cancel their forces by each other. Even if no force acts inthe entire driving device, a state in which each actuator generates aforce, i.e., a state in which a current is supplied can be created. Inother words, the heat generation amount can also be arbitrarily adjustedtogether with the magnitude of force in the overall driving device.

[0126] An example of a method of adjusting the driving force and heatgeneration amount of each actuator will be explained with reference toFIGS. 7A to 7C.

[0127]FIG. 7A shows the driving forces of linear motors respectivelymade up of pairs of coils 8 c and 8 d and magnets 6 c and 6 d when thedriving device does not require any driving force. The left linear motorin FIG. 7A made up of the coil 8 c and magnet 6 c receives a current soas to generate a predetermined driving force F₀. At the same time, theright linear motor in FIG. 7A made up of the coil 8 d and magnet 6 dreceives a current so as to generate a driving force F₀ which is in anopposite direction to the force of the left linear motor in FIG. 7A andis equal in magnitude.

[0128] The magnitude of the driving force is set and controlled suchthat the total of the heat generation amounts of the two linear motorsbecomes equal to the initial heat generation amount Wo as described inthe fourth embodiment. The driving forces of the right and left linearmotors cancel each other, no driving force acts in the driving device,but heat can be generated by the preset initial heat generation amountWo.

[0129]FIG. 7B shows the states of the linear motors when the drivingdevice requires a small driving force. To cause the driving device togenerate a driving force in the right direction in FIG. 7B, a drivingforce F₁ is set larger in the left linear motor in comparison with thestate of FIG. 7A, and a driving force F₂ is set smaller in the rightlinear motor. With this setting, the resultant force of the two linearmotors acts in the right direction in FIG. 7B, and the driving devicemoves to the right.

[0130] The total heat generation amount of the driving device iscontrolled to the preset initial heat generation amount Wo and is equalto the state of FIG. 7A.

[0131]FIG. 7C shows the states of the linear motors when the drivingdevice requires a large driving force. To cause the driving device togenerate a large driving force in the right direction in FIG. 7C, boththe right and left linear motors generate driving forces F₃ and F₄ inthe right direction. At this time, even if the total heat generationamount of the driving device exceeds the initial heat generation amountWo, heat is recovered by the coolant of a cooling unit 17, and a heatgeneration amount control unit 31 controls the heat generation amount ofthe heating unit to 0. The temperature of each portion rises upon achange in total heat generation amount, which is not a problem becausethe initial heat generation amount Wo is set such that even the largesttotal heat generation amount falls within the allowable temperaturerange in exposure.

[0132] As described above, since the driving device is comprised ofactuators redundant in number with respect to a given degree of freedomin the fifth embodiment, a large driving force can be generated bycanceling their driving forces by each other or combining their drivingforces. The driving force can be adjusted while the heat generationamounts of all the actuators are adjusted. In the fifth embodiment, thedriving device can serve as a heating unit. This eliminates the need forarranging a new heating unit and is very advantageous in installationspace and cost.

[0133] To cool most of heating elements very sensitive to a temperaturechange, like an exposure apparatus, the driving device is constituted bynot one actuator but two or more actuators for a certain degree offreedom. In this case, the cooling efficiency increases, which is alsoadvantageous in terms of cooling.

[0134] <Sixth Embodiment>

[0135] The sixth embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a view schematically showing anexposure apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0136] In FIG. 8, reference numeral 53 denotes a wafer stage whichsupports a wafer 51 and aligns it. The wafer stage 53 can move a waferchuck 52 and the wafer 51 chucked and held by the wafer chuck 52 along aplane perpendicular to the optical axis of a projection lens 54. Thewafer stage 53 can obtain its align coordinates by a general method, andits movement is controlled by a designated amount. A reticle 55 held bya reticle holder (not shown) is set above the projection lens 54. Whenan illumination optical unit A above the reticle 55 emits light, apattern formed on the reticle 55 is transferred to the surface of thewafer 51 via the projection lens 54.

[0137] The illumination optical unit A comprises first, second, andthird condenser lenses 57 a, 57 b, and 57 c for uniformly irradiatingthe reticle 55 with light emitted by an extra-high-pressure mercury lamp56, and first and second mirrors 58 a and 58 b for deflecting a beam. Ashutter 59 controls exposure.

[0138] The second and third condenser lenses 57 b and 57 c and thesecond mirror 58 b are designed to create a plane having a sharedimaging relationship with a reticle pattern plane at a portion B shownin FIG. 8. This portion is masked to illuminate only a specific portionof the reticle 55. On the plane B, a pattern exposure mask 61 andalignment mark exposure mask 62 held by a frame 60 are disposed to beselectively inserted in the optical path of a beam, and are switched anddriven by a cylinder 63.

[0139] The exposure amount and exposure conditions of the illuminationoptical unit A are controlled by an exposure amount control unit 71 inaccordance with a signal from a main controller 70 for controlling theexposure apparatus. The exposure amount control unit 71 operates thelight source 56, shutter 59, and masks 61 and 62 in accordance with asignal from the main controller 70, and controls an exposure amount andexposure conditions necessary for the illumination optical unit A.

[0140] The wafer 51 receives heat when exposed. This heat is a cause ofthermal deformation of the wafer 51. Thermal deformation of the wafer 51adversely influences the precision of exposure. The internal temperatureof the exposure apparatus rises due to heat generated from the heatingelement of a driving device for driving the wafer stage 53 in order toalign the wafer 51. The temperature rise also adversely influences theprecision of exposure. To prevent this, a cooling unit 73 is disposed ateach heating element portion to recover heat generated from the heatingelement of the driving device so as to keep the wafer temperatureconstant on the wafer chuck 52 for holding the wafer 51.

[0141] If the internal temperature of the exposure apparatus changes,each member constituting the exposure apparatus thermally deforms, andthe optical axis of a laser interferometer (not shown) for measuring thealign fluctuates to greatly influence the accuracy of exposure. Thus,the cooling unit for keeping the internal atmosphere of the exposureapparatus constant is necessary, and an air-conditioning unit 74 forconditioning air between the projection optical unit and the wafer isarranged.

[0142] A cooling amount control unit 72 for controlling the cooling unit73 and air-conditioning unit 74 calculates the flow rate and temperatureof a coolant circulated by the cooling unit 73 and the flow rate andtemperature of air supplied by the air-conditioning unit 74, on thebasis of a signal supplied from the main controller 70 to the exposureamount control unit 71. Then, the cooling amount control unit 72 outputssignals to the cooling unit 73 and air-conditioning unit 74. Calculationof the cooling amount uses a signal to the exposure amount control unit71 because a heat amount applied to the wafer 51 and a temperaturechange inside the exposure apparatus mainly depend on the exposureamount and exposure conditions from the illumination optical unit A.

[0143] A heating unit 76 for adding a predetermined initial heatgeneration amount to the wafer stage 53 is disposed. Similar to thecooling amount control unit 72, a heat generation amount control unit 75for controlling the heat generation amount of the heating unit 76controls the heat generation amount of the heating unit 76 on the basisof a signal supplied from the main controller 70 to the exposure amountcontrol unit 71. The heat generation amount control unit 75 isassociated with the cooling amount control unit 72. When the capacitiesof the cooling unit 73 and air-conditioning unit 74 controlled by thecooling amount control unit 72 are not sufficient and the heatgeneration amount of the driving device or the like is large, theinternal temperature of the exposure apparatus changes. In the sixthembodiment, the heating unit 76 applies a predetermined initial heatgeneration amount to the wafer stage 53 in advance, and as long as theheat generation amount by driving of the wafer stage 53 does not exceedthe initial heat generation amount, the heat generation amount controlunit 75 controls the total of heat generated by driving of the waferstage 53 and heat generated by the heating unit 76 to be constant by theinitial heat generation amount. When the heat generation amount bydriving of the wafer stage 53 exceeds the initial heat generationamount, the heat generation amount control unit 75 controls the heatgeneration amount of the heating unit 76 to 0 (no heat). The temperatureat each portion of the apparatus rises owing to the initial heatgeneration amount generated by the heating unit 76. However, the problemis solved by regarding this state as an initial state and initializingthe apparatus.

[0144] According to the sixth embodiment having this arrangement, thetemperature at each portion of the apparatus is increased by generatingheat by the heating unit 76 in advance by a temperature rise of eachportion of the apparatus caused by an insufficient capacity of thecooling amount control unit 72 for controlling the cooling unit 73 andair-conditioning unit 74. This state is regarded as an initial state,and the apparatus is initialized. Even in driving when a large amount ofheat is generated, a temperature rise can fall within a range allowed toexposure of the exposure apparatus.

[0145] The above-mentioned embodiments have exemplified an exposureapparatus, particularly the temperature adjustment apparatus of analignment stage in the exposure apparatus. However, the temperatureadjustment apparatus is not limited to applications to the exposureapparatus, but can also be applied to a driving unit mounted on analignment stage such as the X-Y table of a measurement device or ahigh-precision processing device which must achieve precise alignment.

[0146] <Application to Production System>

[0147] A production system for a semiconductor device using the aboveexposure apparatus will be explained. The production system for asemiconductor device (semiconductor chip such as an IC or LSI, liquidcrystal panel, CCD, thin-film magnetic head, micromachine, or the like)uses a computer network outside the manufacturing factory to perform atrouble remedy or periodic maintenance of a manufacturing apparatusinstalled in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, or maintenanceservice such as software distribution.

[0148]FIG. 9 shows the overall system cut out at a given angle. In FIG.9, reference numeral 101 denotes a business office of a vendor(apparatus supply manufacturer) which provides a semiconductor devicemanufacturing apparatus. Assumed examples of the manufacturing apparatusare semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses for various processes usedin a semiconductor manufacturing factory, such as pre-processapparatuses (exposure apparatus, resist processing apparatus, annealingapparatus, film formation apparatus, and the like) and post-processapparatuses (assembly apparatus, inspection apparatus, and the like).The business office 101 comprises a host management system 108 forproviding a maintenance database for the manufacturing apparatus, aplurality of operation terminal computers 110, and a LAN (Local AreaNetwork) 109 which connects the host management system 108 and computers110 to build an intranet. The host management system 108 has a gatewayfor connecting the LAN 109 to the Internet 105 serving as an externalnetwork of the business office, and a security function for limitingexternal accesses.

[0149] Reference numerals 102 to 104 denote manufacturing factories ofthe semiconductor manufacturer as users of manufacturing apparatuses.The manufacturing factories 102 to 104 may belong to differentmanufacturers or the same manufacturer (pre-process factory,post-process factory, and the like). Each of the factories 102 to 104 isequipped with a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses 106, a LAN (LocalArea Network) 111 which connects these apparatuses 106 to build anintranet, and a host management system 107 serving as a monitoringapparatus for monitoring the operation status of each manufacturingapparatus 106. The host management system 107 in each of the factories102 to 104 has a gateway for connecting the LAN 111 in the factory tothe Internet 105 serving as an external network of the factory. Eachfactory can access the host management system 108 of the vendor 101 fromthe LAN 111 via the Internet 105. The security function of the hostmanagement system 108 authorizes access of only a limited user. Morespecifically, the factory notifies the vender via the Internet 105 ofstatus information (e.g., the symptom of a manufacturing apparatus introuble) representing the operation status of each manufacturingapparatus 106. The factory receives, from the vendor, responseinformation (e.g., information designating a remedy against the trouble,or remedy software or data) corresponding to the notification, ormaintenance information such as the latest software or help information.Data communication between the factories 102 to 104 and the vender 101and data communication via the LAN 111 in each factory adopt acommunication protocol (TCP/IP) generally used in the Internet. Insteadof using the Internet as an external network of the factory, a dedicatednetwork (e.g., ISDN) having high security which inhibits access of athird party can be adopted. Also, the user may construct a database inaddition to the one provided by the vendor and set the database on anexternal network, and the host management system may authorize access tothe database from a plurality of user factories.

[0150]FIG. 10 is a view showing the overall semiconductor deviceproduction system that is cut out at a different angle from FIG. 9. Inthe above example, a plurality of user factories having manufacturingapparatuses and the management system of the manufacturing apparatusvendor are connected via an external network, and production managementof each factory or information of at least one manufacturing apparatusis communicated via the external network. In the example of FIG. 10, afactory having manufacturing apparatuses of a plurality of vendors, andthe management systems of the vendors for these manufacturingapparatuses are connected via the external network of the factory, andmaintenance information of each manufacturing apparatus is communicated.In FIG. 10, reference numeral 201 denotes a manufacturing factory of amanufacturing apparatus user (semiconductor device manufacturer) wheremanufacturing apparatuses for various processes, e.g., an exposureapparatus 202, resist processing apparatus 203, and film formationapparatus 204 are installed in the manufacturing line of the factory.FIG. 10 shows only one manufacturing factory 201, but a plurality offactories are networked in practice. The respective apparatuses in thefactory are connected to a LAN 206 to build an intranet, and a hostmanagement system 205 manages the operation of the manufacturing line.The business offices of vendors (apparatus supply manufacturers) such asan exposure apparatus manufacturer 210, resist processing apparatusmanufacturer 220, and film formation apparatus manufacturer 230 comprisehost management systems 211, 221, and 231 for executing remotemaintenance for the supplied apparatuses. Each host management systemhas a maintenance database and a gateway for an external network, asdescribed above. The host management system 205 for managing theapparatuses in the manufacturing factory of the user, and the managementsystems 211, 221, and 231 of the vendors for the respective apparatusesare connected via the Internet or dedicated network serving as anexternal network 200. If a trouble occurs in any one of a series ofmanufacturing apparatuses along the manufacturing line in this system,the operation of the manufacturing line stops. This trouble can bequickly solved by remote maintenance from the vendor of the apparatus introuble via the external network 200. This can minimize the stop of themanufacturing line.

[0151] Each manufacturing apparatus in the semiconductor manufacturingfactory comprises a display, a network interface, and a computer forexecuting network access software and apparatus operating software whichare stored in a storage device. The storage device is a built-in memory,hard disk, or network file server. The network access software includesa dedicated or general-purpose web browser, and provides a userinterface having a window as shown in FIG. 11 on the display. Whilereferring to this window, the operator who manages manufacturingapparatuses in each factory inputs, in input items on the windows,pieces of information such as the type of manufacturing apparatus (401),serial number (402), occurrence date and subject of trouble (403),degree of urgency of trouble (405), symptom (406), remedy (407), andprogress (408). The pieces of input information are transmitted to themaintenance database via the Internet, and appropriate maintenanceinformation is sent back from the maintenance database and displayed onthe display. The user interface provided by the web browser realizeshyperlink functions (410 to 412), as shown in FIG. 11. This allows theoperator to access detailed information of each item, receive thelatest-version software to be used for a manufacturing apparatus from asoftware library provided by a vendor, and receive an operation guide(help information) as a reference for the operator in the factory.

[0152] A semiconductor device manufacturing process using theabove-described production system will be explained.

[0153]FIG. 12 shows the whole manufacturing flow of the semiconductordevice. In step 1210 (circuit design), a semiconductor device pattern isdesigned. In step 1220 (mask formation), a mask having the designedpattern is formed. In step 1230 (wafer manufacture), a wafer ismanufactured using a material such as silicon. In step 1240 (waferprocess) called a pre-process, an actual circuit is formed on the waferby lithography using the prepared mask and wafer. Step 1250 (assembly)called a post-process is the step of forming a semiconductor chip byusing the wafer manufactured in step 1240, and includes an assemblyprocess (dicing and bonding) and packaging process (chip encapsulation).In step 1260 (inspection), inspections such as the operationconfirmation test and durability test of the semiconductor devicemanufactured in step 1250 are conducted.

[0154] After these steps, the semiconductor device is completed andshipped (step 1270). The pre-process and post-process are performed inseparate dedicated factories, and maintenance is done for each of thefactories by the above-described remote maintenance system. Informationfor production management and apparatus maintenance is communicatedbetween the pre-process factory and the post-process factory via theInternet or dedicated network.

[0155]FIG. 13 shows the detailed flow of the wafer process. In step 1311(oxidation), the wafer surface is oxidized. In step 1312 (CVD), aninsulating film is formed on the wafer surface. In step 1313 (electrodeformation), an electrode is formed on the wafer by vapor deposition. Instep 1314 (ion implantation), ions are implanted in the wafer. In step1315 (resist processing), a photosensitive agent is applied to thewafer. In step 1316 (exposure), the above-mentioned exposure apparatusexposes the wafer to the circuit pattern of a mask. In step 1317(developing), the exposed wafer is developed. In step 1318 (etching),the resist is etched except for the developed resist image. In step 1319(resist removal), an unnecessary resist after etching is removed. Thesesteps are repeated to form multiple circuit patterns on the wafer. Amanufacturing apparatus used in each step undergoes maintenance by theremote maintenance system, which prevents a trouble in advance. Even ifa trouble occurs, the manufacturing apparatus can be quickly recovered.The productivity of the semiconductor device can be increased incomparison with the prior art.

[0156] As has been described above, according to the present invention,a Peltier element near an object to be temperature-controlled iscontrolled based on exposure operation of an exposure apparatus or thelike. This enables heat movement control with good responses withrespect to exposure operation, and enables high-precision temperaturecontrol which cannot be achieved by the prior art. Since a temperaturesensor need not always be employed, a low-cost exposure apparatus withhigh stability can be realized. Further, decreases in measurementprecision and align precision by a temperature change can be suppressed.

[0157] A heat recovery unit is arranged near the object to betemperature-controlled. A heat movement amount controlled by the Peltierelement can be reduced, the control efficiency of the Peltier elementcan be increased, and heat generated by the Peltier element itself canbe suppressed small. Resultantly, an increase in total heat amount to berecovered can be suppressed.

[0158] The heat conduction path between the Peltier element and aheating element is made of a material having a high thermalconductivity. Hence, the heat movement amount between the Peltierelement and the heating element can be increased, and the heat amount ofthe object to be temperature-controlled can be efficiently controlled. Abase member is made of a material having a high thermal conductivity orlarge heat capacity, so that a heat amount from the object to betemperature-controlled can suppress temperature nonuniformity or atemperature rise of the base member.

[0159] The heat generation amount of a heating unit near the object tobe temperature-controlled is controlled. Thus, a change in the heatgeneration amount of the object to be temperature-controlled can bereduced to reduce a change in temperature at each portion of theapparatus and a change in ambient temperature. The heating unit is setnear a heating element for the object to be temperature-controlled. Theheating unit can give influence equal to the influence of the heatingelement of the driving device on another portion, which facilitatestemperature control of each portion of the apparatus.

[0160] In general, many heating units can be electrically controlledwith high responses and realize higher-precision temperature control.

[0161] When a linear motor having a plurality of coils is used as astage driving unit, a coil not participating in exposure operation isused as a heating unit, and no new heating unit need be arranged.Moreover, two or more driving units are arranged in one drivingdirection, and the driving force and heat generation amount in thisdriving direction are arbitrarily changed. With this arrangement, eachdriving unit can be used as a heating unit, and no new heating unit needbe arranged, which is advantageous in terms of installation space andcost.

[0162] The heat recovery unit is adopted together with control of theheat generation amount of the heating unit. Even if the heat generationamount of each driving portion increases along with an increase inoutput from the entire apparatus, temperature changes of the apparatusand atmosphere can be suppressed. A temperature change can be controlledat a relatively low temperature, and decreases in measurement precisionand align precision by a temperature change can be suppressed.

[0163] The heat generation amount of the heating unit is controlled onthe basis of exposure operation of the exposure apparatus and a heatgeneration amount recovered by the heat recovery unit. The heating stateof the apparatus can be accurately grasped, so that the heat generationamount can be appropriately controlled. By predicting a temperature riseof each portion of the apparatus on the basis of various pieces ofinformation, a proper heat generation amount can be applied to theheating unit, and temperature control can be minimized. By reflectingthe detection result of the temperature at each portion of the apparatuson the heating unit, higher-precision control of a temperature changecan be achieved.

[0164] As many apparently widely different embodiments of the presentinvention can be made without departing from the spirit and scopethereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to thespecific embodiments thereof except as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A temperature adjustment apparatus for adjustinga temperature of an object to be temperature-controlled, comprising: afirst temperature adjustment mechanism for controlling the temperatureof the object to be temperature-controlled; and a second temperatureadjustment mechanism for controlling the temperature of the object to betemperature-controlled, wherein said first and second temperatureadjustment mechanisms have different temperature control responses, andcontrol the temperature of the object to be temperature-controlled incooperation with coarse adjustment and fine adjustment on the basis ofdifference in responses.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , whereinthe object to be temperature-controlled includes an actuator or a membernear the actuator.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein theobject to be temperature-controlled includes a plurality of objects tobe temperature-controlled.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3 ,wherein said second temperature adjustment mechanism serially connectsthe plurality of objects to be temperature-controlled and adjuststemperatures.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein saidsecond temperature adjustment mechanism parallelly adjusts temperaturesof the plurality of objects to be temperature-controlled.
 6. Theapparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said first temperatureadjustment mechanism controls the temperature of the object to betemperature-controlled on the basis of prediction of the temperature ofthe object to be temperature-controlled.
 7. The apparatus according toclaim 6 , wherein the object to be temperature-controlled generatesheat.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said firsttemperature adjustment mechanism comprises a Peltier element arranged ator near the object to be temperature-controlled.
 9. The apparatusaccording to claim 1 , wherein said second temperature adjustmentmechanism recovers heat of the object to be temperature-controlled byusing a coolant temperature-controlled by a cooling unit.
 10. Theapparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said first temperatureadjustment mechanism comprises a third temperature adjustment mechanismfor adjusting a temperature of a heat exhaust portion.
 11. The apparatusaccording to claim 10 , wherein said third temperature adjustmentmechanism serves as part of said second temperature adjustmentmechanism.
 12. A temperature adjustment apparatus for adjustingtemperatures of a plurality of objects to be temperature-controlled,comprising: a plurality of first temperature adjustment mechanisms whichare respectively arranged at the plurality of objects to betemperature-controlled and respectively control the temperatures of theobjects to be temperature-controlled; and a second temperatureadjustment mechanism for recovering heat exhausted from said pluralityof first temperature adjustment mechanisms.
 13. The apparatus accordingto claim 12 , wherein the objects to be temperature-controlled includeactuators or members near the actuators.
 14. The apparatus according toclaim 12 , wherein said first temperature adjustment mechanisms controlthe temperatures of the objects to be temperature-controlled on thebasis of prediction of the temperatures of the objects to betemperature-controlled.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 14 ,wherein the objects to be temperature-controlled generate heat.
 16. Theapparatus according to claim 12 , wherein said first temperatureadjustment mechanisms comprise Peltier elements respectively arranged atthe objects to be temperature-controlled.
 17. The apparatus according toclaim 12 , wherein said second temperature adjustment mechanism adjuststemperatures of heat exhaust portions of said first temperatureadjustment mechanisms.
 18. An alignment stage apparatus, comprising: afirst temperature adjustment mechanism for controlling a temperature ofan object to be temperature-controlled; a second temperature adjustmentmechanism for controlling the temperature of the object to betemperature-controlled, said first and second temperature adjustmentmechanisms having different temperature control responses; and anactuator for controlling the temperature of the object to betemperature-controlled in cooperation with coarse adjustment and fineadjustment on the basis of difference in responses, and driving thealignment stage by using information about the temperature control asone piece of information for driving control.
 19. An exposure apparatushaving an illumination optical unit for emitting exposure light, a stagefor supporting a substrate, and a main controller for controllingexposure operation of transferring a pattern formed on a master to thesubstrate, comprising: a controller for controlling a Peltier element onthe basis of an operation control signal from the main controller, andcontrolling heat movement by the Peltier element, the Peltier elementbeing set at or near an object to be temperature-controlled.
 20. Theapparatus according to claim 19 , wherein said controller predicts aheat generation amount or temperature of the object to betemperature-controlled on the basis of the operation control signal fromthe main controller, and controls the Peltier element.
 21. The apparatusaccording to claim 19 , wherein a heat recovery unit is arranged nearthe object to be temperature-controlled.
 22. The apparatus according toclaim 21 , wherein the heat recovery unit uses a coolant whosetemperature and flow rate are controlled by a cooling unit.
 23. Theapparatus according to claim 19 , wherein said controller predicts aheat generation amount or temperature of the object to betemperature-controlled on the basis of the operation control signal fromthe main controller, and controls the Peltier element and/or a heatrecovery unit.
 24. The apparatus according to claim 19 , wherein themain controller includes a driving controller for controlling anactuator of the stage, and said controller controls the Peltier elementand/or a heat recovery unit on the basis of a stage driving signal fromthe driving controller.
 25. The apparatus according to claim 19 ,wherein at least one temperature sensor for measuring a temperature ofthe object to be temperature-controlled is set, and said controllercontrols the Peltier element and/or a heat recovery unit on the basis ofan output signal from the temperature sensor.
 26. The apparatusaccording to claim 19 , wherein when the object to betemperature-controlled includes a heating element, a heat conductionpath between the heating element and the Peltier element is formed froma material higher in thermal conductivity than a material of a non-heatconduction path.
 27. The apparatus according to claim 19 , wherein thePeltier element is sandwiched between the object to betemperature-controlled and a base member, and the base member is formedfrom a material having a high thermal conductivity and a large heatcapacity.
 28. An exposure apparatus having an illumination optical unitfor emitting exposure light, a stage for supporting a substrate, and amain controller for controlling exposure operation of transferring apattern formed on a master to the substrate, comprising: a heatgeneration amount controller for controlling a heat generation amount ofa heating element in accordance with an operation status of the exposureapparatus, the heating element being set near at least part of an objectto be temperature-controlled.
 29. The apparatus according to claim 28 ,wherein the heating element is set near a heating element of the objectto be temperature-controlled.
 30. The apparatus according to claim 28 ,wherein an exposure apparatus having a linear motor with a plurality ofcoils as actuators of the stage uses a coil not participating in theexposure operation as the heating element.
 31. The apparatus accordingto claim 28 , wherein an actuator of the stage includes actuators largerby at least one than at least one degree of freedom, and each of theactuators is used as the heating element.
 32. The apparatus according toclaim 28 , wherein a heat recovery unit for recovering a heat generationamount or adjusting a temperature is disposed near the object to betemperature-controlled.
 33. The apparatus according to claim 32 ,wherein the heat recovery unit uses a coolant whose temperature and flowrate are controlled by a cooling unit.
 34. The apparatus according toclaim 32 , wherein the heat recovery unit is controlled based on theheat generation amount of the heating element.
 35. The apparatusaccording to claim 28 , wherein said heat generation amount controllercontrols the heat generation amount of the heating element on the basisof a heat generation amount recovered by a heat recovery unit.
 36. Theapparatus according to claim 28 , wherein said heat generation amountcontroller sets an initial heat generation amount for the heatingelement.
 37. The apparatus according to claim 36 , wherein the initialheat generation amount is set from a difference between a maximum heatgeneration amount generated from a heating element of the object to betemperature-controlled and a maximum heat recovery amount of a heatrecovery unit.
 38. The apparatus according to claim 28 , wherein theheat generation amount controller controls the heat generation amount ofthe heating element on the basis of an exposure signal from the maincontroller.
 39. The apparatus according to claim 28 , wherein the heatgeneration amount controller predicts a heat generation amount ortemperature of the exposure apparatus on the basis of an exposure signalfrom the main controller, and controls the heat generation amount of theheating element so as to reduce a temperature change of the exposureapparatus.
 40. The apparatus according to claim 28 , wherein at leastone temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the object to betemperature-controlled is set, and said heat generation amountcontroller controls the heat generation amount of the heating element onthe basis of an output signal from the temperature sensor.
 41. Theapparatus according to claim 28 , wherein the main controller includesan exposure amount controller for controlling an exposure amount of theillumination optical unit, and said heat generation amount controllercontrols the heat generation amount of the heating element on the basisof a signal from the exposure amount controller.
 42. The apparatusaccording to claim 19 , wherein the exposure apparatus further comprisesa display, a network interface, and a computer for executing networkaccess software, and maintenance information of the exposure apparatusis communicated via a computer network.
 43. The apparatus according toclaim 42 , wherein the network access software provides on said displaya user interface for accessing a maintenance database provided by avendor or user of the exposure apparatus, and enables obtaininginformation from the database via Internet or a dedicated networkconnected to the computer network.
 44. A semiconductor devicemanufacturing method comprising the steps of: installing manufacturingapparatuses for various processes including the exposure apparatusdefined in claim 19 in a semiconductor manufacturing factory; andmanufacturing a semiconductor device in a plurality of processes byusing the manufacturing apparatuses.
 45. The method according to claim44 , further comprising the steps of: connecting the manufacturingapparatuses by a local area network; and communicating information aboutat least one of the manufacturing apparatuses between the local areanetwork and Internet or a dedicated network serving as an externalnetwork of the semiconductor manufacturing factory.
 46. The methodaccording to claim 44 , wherein a database provided by a semiconductordevice manufacturer or a supplier of the exposure apparatus is accessedby data communication via the external network to obtain maintenanceinformation of the manufacturing apparatus, or production management isdone by data communication between the semiconductor manufacturingfactory and another semiconductor manufacturing factory via the externalnetwork.
 47. A semiconductor manufacturing factory comprising:manufacturing apparatuses for various processes including the exposureapparatus defined in claim 19 ; a local area network for connecting saidmanufacturing apparatuses in the semiconductor manufacturing factory;and a gateway for enabling accessing the Internet or a dedicated networkserving as an external network of the semiconductor manufacturingfactory from the local area network, wherein information of at least oneof said manufacturing apparatuses can be communicated.
 48. A maintenancemethod for the exposure apparatus defined in claim 19 , comprising thesteps of: causing a vendor or user of the exposure apparatus installedin a semiconductor manufacturing factory to provide a maintenancedatabase connected to the Internet or a dedicated network serving as anexternal network of the semiconductor manufacturing factory; authorizingaccess from the semiconductor manufacturing factory to the maintenancedatabase via the external network; and transmitting maintenanceinformation accumulated in the maintenance database to the semiconductormanufacturing factory via the external network.